TMNT DVD Review

Grab a sword, slice some pizza and attack this DVD!

Video and Presentation The 3-D animation in TMNT is clean, colorful and beautifully stylized. Thankfully, that flare is well preserved in this standard-definition transfer. The digital work nicely eliminates many of the problems inherent in more filmic DVDs such as grain, ghosting or noticeable artifacts. The problem with many such animated films hitting their DVD release tends to involve the vibrancy of the visuals which is wonderfully sustained here. Darks are dark; lights are lights; the colors pop and the CG seldom seems over-polished to that annoying computer-generated sheen. Overall, a great widescreen presentation of a film that manages to avoid the Pixar pitfall in which so many lesser efforts become trapped.

Score: 8 out of 10

Languages and Audio The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround-sound work perfectly in complementing the well-crafted visuals. The musical score is a little underwhelming - loud, but lacking impact - though the kinetic, fast-moving fight sequences and the weightless camerawork populate all five channels with enough clanking metal, splintering woodwork, explosions, hand-to-hand combat and wooshing, rooftop runs to make for an exciting 90 minutes. Even the quieter, character moments support a musical mix that nicely underscores the dialogue with sufficient emotional impact. This is a high-quality audio transfer perfectly on par with the film's visuals.

Score: 8 out of 10

Extras and Packaging Beneath the well-designed, raised-print slipcase lies some bonus content of only slightly better-than-average quality. There's not a lot here with the exception of a fairly informative commentary with the film's writer and director, Kevin Munroe - who nicely sets up the history and inspiration for the film and provides some interesting insight into the voice acting and animation process. That aside, the rest is a collection of barely-animated sequences-that-could-have-been which - for reasons ranging from pacing to scheduling to budget - were either cut or scaled back. Some storyboard-to-film comparisons and a handful of pre-vis prove initially captivating, but their too-short, two-minute runtimes hamper the enjoyment of a longer experience.

An alternate opening is probably the most interesting here, setting up the history of the Turtles since last viewers saw them with a moving arrangement of drawings, sketches and photographs, leading into an slightly simpler version of the opening bank robbery sequence. There's the full version of the "birthday party" sequence involving Michelangelo only briefly glimpsed in a montage toward the film's beginning. "Donny's Digital Data Files" is another two-minute extra - the only to go truly behind-the-scenes for a glimpse at the technology behind the animation process. Unfortunately, it's too short to really convey any real information. Finally, "TMNT: Voice Talent First Look" is a fairly standard behind-the-scenes glimpse at the voice actors - including Patrick Stewart, Sara Michelle Geller and Laurence Fishbourne - discussing to do their job from a booth. Again, as seems to be the philosophy on this DVD, the feature is only about five minutes long.

Overall, an amusing - if not necessarily involving - set of extras.

Score: 6 out of 10

The Bottom Line A fun, nostalgic, gorgeous, loud DVD experience, TMNT is well worth a spot in your collection, despite a fairly forgettable collection of extras. Cowabunga!